1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to model or toy vehicles, and more particularly to a remote controlled model vehicle with simulated lowrider type motion control.
2. Description of Related Art
Model or toy cars are very popular and are produced to simulate or emulate a real vehicle albeit in reduced scale or exaggerated form. One relatively new area of model car products is with respect to remote controlled toy vehicles which may be propelled at various speeds and are rendered steerable by wireless components controlled by an independent radio transmitter.
An area of full size vehicle emulation as embodied in toy vehicles is that of a lowrider vehicle with “hip hop” suspension which simulates the hip hop raising and lowering motions that are well known to be associated with full-size lowrider vehicles. Fluid actuation mechanisms installed onto full scale vehicles rapidly raise and lower all or a selected number of suspension assemblies at each corner area of the full scale vehicle so that it may be raised in total, lowered close to the ground and raised and lowered rapidly from front to back or from side to side or from corner to corner as the operator of such vehicles desires.
A number of prior art patents disclose miniature or toy self-propelled vehicles, mostly operable by remote or wireless controller which emulate this lowrider motion activity:                U.S. Pat. No. 6,620,023 to Yeung        U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,054 to Rauch        U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,872 to Simmons, et al.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,576 to Belton        U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,077 to Bailey        U.S. Pat. No. 6,599,169 to Edmisson, et al.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,246 to Suto        U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,126 to Banse        U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,494 to Ishimoto        
More specifically, the Yeung patent 6,620,023, teaches a tilt and lift suspension for a model vehicle which emulates “hydraulics” in a full size vehicle. A wheel carriage is coupled to the chassis and movement therebetween is controlled by one or more actuators.
The articulated model vehicle disclosed in the '054 patent by Rauch also teaches a model vehicle having a lowrider configuration with independently repositionable roadway wheels into temporary roadway wheel hop positions.
Simmons, in U.S. '872, incorporates a counterbalance lift assembly to achieve a lowrider model suspension action. Lifting action is accomplished by a solenoid acting on an L-shaped lever arm to cause the rise and fall of the front suspension simulating a lowrider hopping action.
At least one hopping actuating motor is mounted on a frame and has a second rotatable arm connectable to the front axle as taught in U.S. Patent '576 by Belton. A simplistic lift assembly for lowrider model cars is taught by Bailey in U.S. Patent '077 wherein a lifting assembly is provided on the chassis for lifting the chassis relative to the axle between a lowered position and a raised position to simulate lowrider type movement. Both front and back and side-to-side hopping movement is achievable.
The present invention provides a toy lowrider model vehicle with very realistic suspension and actuator components. Each of the independent suspension assemblies function similarly to that of a full scale vehicle having upper and lower control arms which are pivotally connected to the chassis and an axle or spindle which extends transversely outwardly to support a wheel. The front suspension also includes a steering mechanism with independent steering motor to effect direction control of the vehicle. Moreover, each of the independent suspension assemblies is controlled in vertical movement of the wheel axle or spindle by a separate lifting motor which moves only through a limited arc of travel which, by pivoted linkage, is connected to one of the suspension assembly control arms, preferably the lower control arm.
By this arrangement, a fully functioning steerable radio controlled or manually controlled toy lowrider model vehicle, preferably in a larger 1:6 scale, may be selectively raised and lowered to achieve virtually any combination of lifting and lowering in lowrider vehicle fashion while also providing the satisfaction and pleasure of operation of a scaled down version of a full scale vehicle.